After a long career at Barron's, I joined Forbes as San Francisco bureau chief in December 2010. I've been writing about technology and investing for more than 25 years. With the Tech Trade, I've picked up where I left off when I was writing the Tech Trader Daily blog at Barrons.com. When I'm not working, you can find me riding my road bike around the Bay Area hills, managing my fantasy baseball team, rooting for my beloved Phillies and Eagles and hanging out in the Valley with my family. You can follow me on Facebook, on Twitter (@savitz), and on Google+.

Mobile Marketing: How To Generate Loyalty On The Go

We’ve been hearing the claim that “there are more mobile phones in the world than there are toothbrushes” for a while now. It’s important for marketers to think about what that actually means for them. According to a recent Pew Internet report, 46% of American adults own a smartphone. We’re deep in a world of mobile dominance, and an effective strategy to capitalize on this market needs to be the first weapon in your marketing arsenal.

The mobile device opens up an unparalleled window into your customers’ lives. The value of this information cannot be overstated: if you can utilize mobile’s unprecedented opportunities for customer engagement properly, you have the opportunity to turn your customers into fans.

For the past decade, we’ve been continually asking ourselves, “Is mobile there yet?” Today, the definitive answer is yes — mobile has not only arrived, it has proceeded to dominate across all platforms.

What’s more: targeting your customers via mobile works. Mobile advertising is up 132% in the first half of 2012; mobile browsing is expected to overtake desktop engagement by 2014. With more iPhones being purchased per second than babies being born worldwide, smartphone adoption is happening more rapidly than any other impactful technology shift.

And yet, only 19% of retailers have an e-commerce mobile app. These numbers do not lie: it’s time for the lagging 81% to get on board, and get serious about mobile.

With this widespread change comes a behavioral shift as well. Everyone has their smartphone on hand at all times. It’s habit forming: this mobile addiction has opened up the possibilities for reaching a customer base in unforeseen ways.

Think about it. When you’re standing in line at a store, what are you doing? Most likely, you’re looking at your smartphone. Consider this from a marketing perspective: you have a customer already in line to make a purchase. It’s not difficult to see just how valuable it would be to reach this customer at exactly this moment, and to be able to gain insight into what they’re thinking, what they want, and how to inspire them to commit to your brand.

Mobile and Loyalty, a Perfect Fit

Of course, this is the moment when using loyalty through the mobile platform becomes incomparably valuable. We already use loyalty tactics to solidify customer relationships: when using mobile, you not only have the ability to reach the customer, we can also derive extended permissions (thanks to the opt-in nature of mobile) and get them to continually pay attention to your brand.

Loyalty communications already have more than three times the open and engagement rates of traditional communications. When you apply that level of engagement to your mobile marketing initiatives, the combination of mobile and loyalty will both get you these permissions to target your customers more directly , and the information you need to target them more effectively.

Doing Mobile Loyalty Right

You get it: mobile is a very big deal. And it’s clear, from a marketing perspective, how the double-edged sword of mobile and loyalty can be wielded to turn your customers into lifelong fans. But understanding is only the first step; you need to make sure you implement your mobile strategy well.

The most successful mobile programs rely on one of three things to get customers to engage: they drive value, they drive convenience, or they elevate a customer’s status in a visible and meaningful way.

Valpak’s app is an excellent example of the value and convenience possible using mobile. The service, which recently integrated with Apple Passbook, allows customers to download and store coupons which they can redeem directly from their phones. The app’s location-based technology alerts customers when they are physically near a merchant where they can use a coupon. This makes Valpak a consumer-friendly, convenient way to draw customers to a brand and gather information about their shopping habits.

Safeway’s Just For U mobile app uses many of the same tactics as Valpak, allowing customers to store coupons, build a shopping list, and find stores on their phones. Safeway takes a very personal approach, suggesting “Just For U” deals to customers based on items they buy and notifying them about specials at their local store. This mobile aspect of an in-person shopping experience shows a familiarity with their customers, and helps inspire them to come back and shop regularly.

Starbucks was one of the bandleaders in mobile payments, and their app still exemplifies the intelligent simplicity of their approach. Every time Starbucks’ customers make a purchase using their Passbook-stored Starbucks card, they earn a star. Five stars can earn you a free drink or upgrade, but the thirty star Gold Level is a very real example of in-store attention. Your barista will know your name and your order, combining mobile convenience and status-based personalization to a very effective degree.

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